


Realm of Glory

by StarlightPhoenix



Category: Good Omens (TV)
Genre: Character Study, Gen, Mentions of Violence, Mentions of the Fall, No Dialogue, hey its ya girl back to write more niche fanfiction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-01
Updated: 2020-05-01
Packaged: 2021-03-02 04:35:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,901
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23939251
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StarlightPhoenix/pseuds/StarlightPhoenix
Summary: Heaven, as everyone knew, was Good.It would be blasphemous to imply otherwise. Angels were created to serve their Lord. If they did not serve, they were Bad, and if they were Bad, they would have been demons.As there are no demons in Heaven, Heaven was Good.Or, a character study of the Archangels Michael, Gabriel, Uriel, and Sandalphon, before and after The Fall.
Comments: 6
Kudos: 20





	Realm of Glory

Heaven, as everyone knew, was Good. 

It would be blasphemous to imply otherwise. Angels were created to serve their Lord. If they did not serve, they were Bad, and if they were Bad, they would have been demons. 

As there are no demons in Heaven, Heaven was Good. 

Michael knows she is Good. She was the one to cast out Satan, after all. She was the one called upon by her Lord to drive out Evil. Her very name implied Goodness. She was named Michael by her Creator—She Who is Like God. To insult her is to insult the Lord. 

She knows that she is Good, but she wonders, sometimes. She wonders if anyone remembers the past, her past. Before the War, before the chaos, before they understood Good and Bad. 

She wonders if they remember that she was forced to cast out her brother _._ He was not always Evil, and she remembers laughter and whispered conversations. She remembers racing through Heaven, teasing him whenever she won and huffing when he did instead. 

She wonders if she missed her opportunity to see him again. 

Aziraphale proved that demons and angels could get along, and Michael had evidence of their friendship for millennia. 

Could she have sought him out after the Fall? Could she have seen her brother again?

She imagines seeing him again after the War. She knows it would have ended in bloodshed, that they are both too hurt to forgive each other. Her imagination does not understand this reality. It instead offers her images of the two of them sitting together, talking, all hurt put behind them. She imagines a garden, an apple tree offered shade on a warm day. She imagines the two of them lying in the grass, back when the humans were not created and angels roamed Eden instead. 

It's a pleasant dream that she cannot have. 

She remembers the violence. The blood staining her armor, her sword, her hands covered in liquid gold. She remembers his betrayal, yes, against Heaven and their Creator, but also her betrayal of him. She was meant to protect him, protect all of Heaven. 

And yet. 

As soon as the traitors were cast out, as soon as it was safe to let go of her sword, she knew she could not be what Heaven needed. They needed reassurances, needed stability. Michael had done as commanded, but it left her stained. She turned her command to Gabriel, hoping that he could be what Heaven needed. 

She sheathed her sword, instead arming herself with information. She created her back channels, observing angels and demons alike. It was less painful, she reasoned. Less violent. 

She didn’t think about what was done with that information. She doesn’t think about how her information led to the correction of other angels, purposely avoids those consequences. She doesn’t think about how her connections led her to the complete destruction of an angel and demon, how it was only divine intervention that prevented those deaths. 

It was not her fault, she reasons. She was merely passing along that information. She couldn’t control what the others did with her information. She had done nothing to them herself. 

She wonders if she merely traded one weapon for another. 

-

Gabriel knows he is Good. He was loyal to Her during the Rebellion, continues to be loyal to Her millennia later. He is faithful, serves Her with devotion. His Lord is his Strength, and his existence is dependent on his servitude. 

He knows that he is loyal, but he wonders where he went wrong. Not Wrong, of course. He is an angel, he cannot do Wrong, but he knows that he tarnished Heaven. 

He knows that his leadership sapped the happiness, the love, out of Heaven, out of the angels. Bright colors were bleached into a burning white. Laughter was replaced by paperwork, and angels became employees rather than siblings. 

It would be convenient to say that it was the War. Surely it was the chaos, the violence, that created such a somber air throughout Heaven. 

He remembers being given charge of Heaven. Michael's eyes were dulled by the pain she endured. Physical, yes, but it was the emotional trauma that did the most damage. He remembers her assurances that he will be a good leader, that he was what Heaven needed. The angels needed someone to guide them, and Michael could not be there for them. 

He wonders what Heaven would be like if Michael never stepped down, but he suspects that it wouldn't make a difference. Perhaps they were both unfit to lead after the War.

He thinks about Aziraphale, about being called a bad angel. It was a contradiction, of course. Angels cannot be bad. If they were, they wouldn't be angels. If he was bad at being an angel, he would be in Hell. 

He wonders if he dragged the rest of Heaven with him. If he corrupted them. He only wanted to keep them safe. If they did something Wrong, if they became traitors, they would Fall. 

The first threat to Heaven was another angel. So, Gabriel made sure that no other angels would be a threat. He combed out whatever traitors were left after the initial Fall, kept his eyes open for disobedience. He sent Uriel and Sandalphon to take care of those who tried to ruin Heaven again. He encouraged other angels to speak up if they heard any rumors. 

He made them suspicious of each other, leaving no room for kindness or goodness or love. 

He was only trying to protect them. 

Gabriel remembers better times. 

He wishes he didn't. 

-

Uriel knows that she is Good. She served faithfully, obeyed orders from her Creator, from those who were given authority. She followed Michael into battle, followed Gabriel to ensure that Heaven was Good. She did what she could, reassuring angels that the worst was over, that they were safe. She comforted those who turned to her, was comforted herself by the knowledge that she was judged to be Good. 

She knows that she is Good, but she wonders if she should have done more. 

She remembers holding her tongue when Gabriel gave orders. She did not want to create more trouble, and a divided Heaven would only make matters worse. She stayed quiet, she offered her support to Gabriel and his plans. Michael, Uriel reasoned, also supported Gabriel. Arguing would have only made matters worse. 

She wonders if she should have argued. She saw the damage that was being done. She reasoned that she could speak up later, after Heaven settled again. Later, she now knows, will never come. 

She imagines what she would have said. The evidence she would have used. Colors slowly bled into white, gardens became offices, and angels became terrified of speaking to her. Once, she was a comfort to them. She remembers realizing that they no longer come to her. They were terrified of punishment if they spoke out of turn. 

She imagines telling Gabriel that he did this, that he made everything worse, but she knows that would be unfair. She was just as guilty for her silence, for her complacence. 

She did not merely watch, after all. She showed her loyalty through her actions. She ensured that if any angels stepped out of line, they would be corrected. Correction was never painless. It was meant to be a lesson. Angels who once sought her out began to fear her. 

She remembers Aziraphale's fear of her. She had cornered him, had watched silently when Sandalphon hit him, had insulted him for wanting to save humanity. 

She remembers Aziraphale at the walls of Eden. He was eager, wanting to escape the memories of Heaven as much as any angel. More than that, he wanted to protect the humans. He had fought in the War, but fighting to protect was better than fighting against your siblings. 

He, like all other angels, stopped talking to her.

She knows he will not forgive her. It stings, knowing that she was the cause of his pain, of Heaven's pain. 

She wonders if she will have the courage to speak up now. 

Sitting in meeting after meeting, silent as Gabriel explains his plans, she does not know. 

-

Sandalphon knows he is Good. He served their Creator during the War, drove out Evil from Heaven. He protected humanity, even if it meant from themselves. Humans were easily tempted, after all, and they needed to be reminded to stay on the right path. 

Sandalphon knows he is Good, but he wonders who the enemy is. 

Demons would be the easy answer. 

Before they were demons, they were friends, siblings. He remembers when wars were unfamiliar concepts, when swords were used for playing rather than battle. He remembers laughing during training sessions, swords easily abandoned in favor of tackling your partner and rolling on soft dirt. He remembers Michael's gentle admonishments that they should at least pretend to take their training seriously. 

He remembers realizing that they weren't training anymore. The traitors were out for blood, and they did not follow proper form. They fought dirty, wanted nothing more than to kill him before he killed them. 

Unlike Michael, the Fall did not sate Sandalphon. 

She did not want to fight. Sandalphon had nothing left but to fight. If he did not, if he put down his sword, he would remember that they were once his friends. He would see their smiles stained gold, lifeless, cruel, mocking Heaven and destroying the peace for millennia to come. 

Demons, he knew, were the enemy. They ruin everything, corrupt everything they touch. The Fall was merciful. They should have been slaughtered for their crimes. 

He wonders when other angels became the enemy. 

He remembers scrutinizing the others. No one realized the consequences of the rebellion until the War, and he knew that one angel acting out could cause the entirely of the Host to collapse. He refused to let allow another War, to watch Heaven to torn apart again. He watched the others and reported questionable behavior to Gabriel, who usually left him and Uriel to deal with the problem. 

He remembers watching Aziraphale. The Principality was always nervous, and he wonders if that was because he was lying to them all. He remembers the ticks, the fidgeting, the strained smiles. 

He remembers wanting to punish Aziraphale for threatening the Host. It wasn't a direct threat, but the implications were dangerous. Aziraphale suggested going against their Creator, and the last angel to make that suggestion ended up ruling in Hell. 

He wants to believe that Aziraphale is the enemy. Surely an angel causing trouble is one that should not be an angel at all. 

He wants to believe that he is justified in targeting Aziraphale. 

After seeing Aziraphale walk into Hellfire without a singe, he wants to believe that he isn't an angel anymore. 

He doesn't want to think about how only She would be able to make him immune and that Heaven might be wrong. 

-

Heaven, as everyone knew, was Good. 

Good, however, in the Biblical sense. Heaven is superior to humans and demons alike. 

They were not kind. They were not warm, or bright, or loving. They were not good. 

They had not been in quite some time. 

Perhaps they would change their ways again. Perhaps not. 

They had quite some time to figure it out themselves. 

**Author's Note:**

> I want more fanfics about these four, so I guess I had to write it myself. 
> 
> Agree? Disagree? Think I got it so totally wrong that I should be ashamed of myself? Comment and let me know! I love talking about them so much!
> 
> And you can find me at [cleverlittlejay.tumblr.com](https://cleverlittlejay.tumblr.com/) for more GO content! Feel free to say hi!


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